


Middleborough High GSA

by aquaartistcat



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: Asdfghjkl, Cinnabon, FTM, GSA, Gay, High School, I heard that thats the ship name for jenna and christine??? Idk, LGBTQ Themes, Multi, Pinkberry, So..., Trans Character, Trans Male Character, Trans Michael, asexual christine, boyf riends — Freeform, brooke isnt popular, cant you tell?, ill explain it eventually, im so great at tags, jake just wants friends who arent jerks, jfc my first real bmc fic that isnt bad... ish???, rich the theater nerd, richjake, they are all so closeted, they dont know each other really, theyre in a gay club
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-29
Updated: 2018-07-01
Packaged: 2018-12-08 10:07:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11644317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aquaartistcat/pseuds/aquaartistcat
Summary: What happens when eight highschoolers show up to a club made for gays? Friendships? Terrible jokes? Memes? Arguments? Romance???Jeremy has no idea why are you asking him.An AU where nobody really knows each other very well, but they all show up to the Gender and Sexuality Alliance. No SQUIP, and a different past. Fasten your seat belts, this is gonna be one heck of a ride.





	1. GSA Meeting Todayyy

**Author's Note:**

> jfc help i cant write. anyway, enjoy my terribly paced first chapter
> 
> TWs: "queer" is said, but like,,, not offensively. just meaning not straight. They swear a lot probably. Expect that. Rich drawing... stuff... um just expect the usual swearing and things. oh, and christine being a mom but also almost killing jake. you'll see. its about shrek. ; )

Jeremy Heere walked into the dusty spare room in that back of Middleborough High, where a small group of high schoolers gathered. He had seen flyers promoting the GSA around the school, and was interested in seeing what it would be like to attend a meeting. Jeremy's curiosity, of course, got the best of him, and he was standing in a room, waiting for the Gender and Sexuality Alliance club to start. The teen scanned the room. 

On a huge whiteboard in front, the words ‘GSA Meeting Todayyy’ were scribbled. The ‘ayyy' portion was circled in red marker, a contrast from the black color that the rest of the sentence was written in, and the last two y’s in ‘ayyy' were clearly written in another person's handwriting.

There were about fifteen desks scattered throughout the room, a few of which were piled with backpacks, and others had students sitting at them. There was a bulletin board in the back and a few stacks of Health 101 books. Health 101 being the lecture on puberty, which was still being repeated in high school. 

Jeremy turned his attention back to the whiteboard, where a short teen with burns covering his arms and a portion of his face stood, scrawling witty jokes and drawings of dicks on the smooth surface. 

Next to him was a slightly taller girl with short black hair and a jean jacket, frantically trying to erase the drawings of dicks. 

In the back corner of the room was two girls. One of which, a well-known gossip girl, was on her phone, typing faster than anyone Jeremy had even seen type. Next to her was Brooke, one of the most popular girls in school. She was nice, but hung out with the wrong people, like Madeline and Chloe. 

A popular guy, (wow, thought Jeremy, are all popular kids secretly gay?) Jake, sat in the other back corner, apparently trying to make conversation with the student that Jeremy only knew as Anti-Social Headphones Kid, a name bestowed upon them by the many students who didn't bother to listen to role call. 

Jeremy walked over to the corner where Jake and Headphones sat, hoping to engage in a normal conversation. But what conversation is normal in a club made for queer kids? 

“-and seeing the opportunity to create a club that initiates unity, and happens to be revolving around a subject I care about, I simply asked the principal to host a GSA, and he obliged! You're welcome.” Jake finished a thought out speech, as Headphones sipped their cherry slushie. Headphones was clearly not paying attention, responding with an “I'm sorry for your loss”. Actually, that could be applied here. 

Jake turned his attention to Jeremy when he saw him approach. “Hey! I'm Jake. Welcome to the first official Middleborough High GSA meeting.” Jake looked back at Headphones who was, for some reason, staring up at Jeremy. “Sorry for ranting, dude. I'm just stoked to not talk about sports or hot girls with my usual group. It's nice to do something I like for once.” 

Headphones whipped their head to look at Jake last second, and responding with “Oh, it's cool. Yeah.” They were blushing, from what Jeremy assumed was embarrassment from not listening to Jake. 

Jake turned to Jeremy once again. “So, what's your name? I think you're in my Tech-Ed class.” 

“I’m Jeremy. Yeah, Miss Pace is… my teacher too. For Tech-Ed.” Awkwardly, Jeremy failed to make a good first impression. Nevertheless, Jake patted him on the shoulder, thanked him for showing up, and proceeded to go to the front of the room to officially begin the meeting. 

The short guy and girl with the jean jacket scrambled to their desks, where they glared at each other. The girls in the back looked up, and Headphones, who Jeremy had taken a seat next to, look both excited and bored somehow. 

“So! Welcome to the first GSA meeting.” Jake started charismatically. “We should start by going around and giving our preferred name and pronouns. I'll begin. I'm Jake, and my pronouns are he/him.” Jake pointed to the girl in the jean jacket, signalling her to introduce herself. 

“I'm Christine! She/her.” She greeted, smiling. 

The short guy with the burns spoke next. “I'm Rich, he/him.” 

Gossip girl looked up. “Jenna, she/her.” 

“Brooke, she/sher.” She facepalmed, realizing her mistake. “She/her. Sorry.” Jenna laughed, elbowing the blonde next to her. 

Suddenly, the door flew open, revealing Chloe Valentine, one of the most popular girls to ever walk, no, strut the halls of Middleborough High. Why was she in a club for gay kids? Well, gay, bi, pan, trans, allies, non-binary, ace… you get the jist. 

“Not a word!” Chloe said sternly, holding up a perfectly manicured finger. “Not a word about this to anyone. As far as you know, I'm here to make fun of you all.” 

Everyone in the room practically locked their lips. A threat from Chloe may as well have been a one-way ticket to the bottom of the social ladder. Brooke, however, looked very hopeful for some reason. She patted the seat to her left, and Chloe made her way over, sneering at the group as she walked. Chloe’s entrance ended with a “Chloe, she/her.” and then it was Jeremy's turn. 

He prayed that he wouldn't fuck it up this time. “Jeremy, he\him.” Thank god. Big reveal time, what was Headphones kid named? 

“Michael, he/him. But I'm kind of…” he paused nervously. “y’know. Not out. So she/her outside of this. Michelle.” Michael grimaced at his birth name. The rest of the group nodded reassuringly. 

“Okay, so, first order of business! Um... “ Jake rubbed his temple. “What do you guys want to do?” It was obvious that their leader was unprepared. 

Rich immediately shot up his hand. “I want to draw more dicks on the whiteboard.” He stated, like it was a perfectly normal thing to say. That got him a smack on the arm from Christine. “No, Christine! Stop your unconventional acts of violence! You will kill someone!” Rich fell on the ground dramatically. 

Christine rolled her eyes. “The only acts I do are 1 and 2.” That comment was followed from some “ayyy!”s, clapping, and Rich booing. 

“Okay, but seriously, can I draw dicks?” Rich asked, still lying on the floor. Jake shook his head, and Rich groaned. “Why am I here if I can't draw dicks… You've defeated my purpose.” 

Jeremy turned to Michael, seeing as Rich complaining about his ‘purpose' was probably never going to end. Michael had his phone out, playing an app version of Pac-Man. 

“Oh, you like retro games?” Jeremy asked, happy to finally see someone who could appreciate the same stuff as him. 

“Yeah, now shut up. I'm trying to concentrate. Blinky is being a son of a bitch.” Michael lasted ten seconds longer before he died. “Dammit. I almost beat my high score.” 

The boy turned his phone off and looked to Jeremy. Michael started to look guilty when he realized who he had quieted earlier. “Oh, sorry for telling you to be quiet and shit… I was just trying to concentrate.” 

Jeremy shook his head. “It's fine. One time I was playing Apocalypse of The Damned, when my laundry machine started, and I died because I got distracted for less than a second. For some reason I thought someone was breaking in.” Jeremy admitted. 

Michael's eyes lit up. “You play Apocalypse of The Damned too? I thought I was the only person in our school who-” Michael was cut off by Jake speaking at the front of the room. 

“Because I refuse to let Rich draw dicks, we are gonna get to know each other better. So how about we go around and ask each person the same question, and a new person picks the question each time?” There were some murmured agreements. “Okay. I’ll start… again. What is your favorite hobby. Mine is participating in extracurricular activities.” 

Brooke raised her hand. Jake nodded, and she answered the question. “Mine is making fun of people who do every extracurricular possibly imaginable.” Jenna high-fived her. 

“Mine is drawing dicks on whiteboards.” Rich said. 

“I like to sing songs from musicals and then cry because the characters aren't real and I will never see it because there is no bootleg, so I memorize all the songs and read the script and listen to the audio and memorize every line, but it's no use because it's not real and I can never see it because they stopped performing years ago.” Everyone just stared at Christine. She shrugged, and they moved on. 

“I like ruining people's social lives,” said Jenna, not looking up from her phone. 

“I like going to PinkBerry.” was Chloe’s answer. 

“Playing Apocalypse of The Damned.” was both Jeremy's and Michael’s answer. 

The club continued playing this game. Some questions included ‘should I be allowed to draw dicks on the whiteboard’ from Rich, ‘favorite song’ from Christine, ‘best Disney movie’ from Brooke, and it ended with ‘favorite meme’, which had an eventual split between Allstar and SammyClassicSonicFan. 

All hell broke loose after that, and Christine almost snapped Jake’s neck while repeating “SHREK IS LOVE, SHREK IS LIFE!” Jenna then blackmailed everyone with a picture of the chaos, and demanded “It's time to stop!”. 

That began a revolution of new memes, including Reeses Puffs and Dabbing. Michael started dabbing unironically and Brooke actual started to cry. It all ended when everyone mutually agreed that nothing could beat Pepe. 

Two hours in, they were playing Truth or Dare while eating animal crackers that Chloe stole from the nurse. “Oh hey, look. It's 4:20. Time for us to conclude the meeting.” Michael announced. 

“Why?” Jeremy asked. 

“Because 4:20 is the perfect time to end the meeting. Duh.” Everyone nodded in agreement. 

Jeremy left the building, waving to Michael on his way out. They had decided to meet up sometime over the weekend and play Apocalypse of The Damned together. Jeremy got into the passenger side of his dad's car. 

“So, cadet, how was the club?” Jeremy’s dad asked as they were leaving the parking lot. 

“It was good. The people were really cool. Nice cool. Not popular cool.” 

His dad nodded. “That's good. What was the club again?” 

Jeremy hesitated. “Um… Just a socializing club. Nothing much.” 

“Alright then. What do you want for dinner?” 

Jeremy sighed in relief. He didn't have to tell his dad that he was going to GSA. 

“Anything.” 

His dad smiled. “Good, that's my specialty.”


	2. Semi-Social Weekend, Anybody?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeremy hangs out with the boy.
> 
> TWs: some homophobia, some dysphoria, and the usual swearing ; ) (tell me if i missed anything!!)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> asdfghjkl um, this is hopefully enough to satisfy yall until i muster up the inspiration to write another chapter. I'll try to post every one or two days, to keep it flowing. suggestions are welcome and appreciated!! also if i made any typos ;')

The remainder of the school week rolled by fast, and soon enough it was Friday. Jeremy was walking through the halls in the last few minutes of 8th period, study hall, when he noticed Michael entering the school library. His white headphones were covering his ears, and he wore the same oversized red hoodie that Jeremy had seen him in on Tuesday at the GSA meet.

Jeremy dashed over to the library entrance and caught the door before it closed. He made his way to the sign-in sheet (that they still had for highschool) at the front desk, and stood behind the shorter boy before tapping his shoulder.

Michael flinched and spun his head to face Jeremy. Once he saw that it was only him, he relaxed. “Oh, thank god. It’s just you.” He took his headphones of and rested them around his neck.

“Yep. Only me… So, Michae-” Jeremy was cut off by a panicked glare from Michael. “-Michelle. What’s up?” Jeremy flashed a nervous smile.

Michael finished signing himself in, and handed the pen to Jeremy. “Not much. I did beat my highscore on the Miss Pac-Man at the mall. You?”

“My life, since we last spoke, has been uneventful, as always.” Jeremy signed his name and then walked with Michael to some books, scanning the spines for and good titles. “So, are you still up to play Apocalypse of the Damned this weekend?”

Michael looked up from a graphic novel he was inspecting. “Uh, sure. Oh, I forgot to give you my number. You have a phone, right?”

“Uh, yeah. Why wouldn’t I?”

“Just checking. I didn’t get one until I was a Freshman.” Michael handed Jeremy his phone to input the phone number into. Jeremy handed it back, and Michael shot him a text. Jeremy’s phone buzzed, signaling the victory of the number exchange, and he checked the text.

New Message From: ???

???: hey its me, michael

im.heere: Hey dude.

Jeremy updated the contact as needed, and slipped his phone into his pocket before a librarian confiscated his phone. Jeremy looked up over a few rows of shelves to see Dustin Kropp staring over at him with a cocky grin. 

“Looks like you finally managed to get a chick’s number after all. Unfortunately, that one-” Dustin pointed to Michael like he was an inanimate object. “-is no good. Heard that she goes to some ‘Gay Club’. You should join her next time, loser.” Jeremy was lucky that that was all that Dustin said. ‘Loser’ may as well have been the nicest thing Dustin could have called him.

Michael rolled his eyes. “You might want a vision screening, Kropp. I’m right here.” He led Jeremy into a section towards the back of the library. “That asshole. He really needs to educate himself.”

“His struggles are true. He can’t even learn when he is in a library in a school, with a book sitting a foot away from him. God bless his tormented soul.” Jeremy put his hand over his heart and made a face to suggest he was pitying the teen. Michael snickered into the sleeve of his sweatshirt, which was reward enough for Jeremy.

After a few silent minutes of looking through books, Jeremy tried to make smalltalk. He noticed the book that Michael was holding and commented on it. “Hey, what’s that book about?”

Michael just stared at Jeremy, with a mocking look of shock on his face. “Jeremy! I cannot believe that you have never read the heavenly beauty that is Drama! It’s the best graphic novel ever written!”

Jeremy raised an eyebrow. “Really? It’s that good?” 

“Yes! Would I ever lie to you?” Jeremy thought about the question.

“Quite possibly, yes.”

“You’re smarter than I anticipated. Anyway,” Michael opened the cover to reveal colorful panels of drawings. They were of three teenagers walking somewhere in winter. “It all begins with pretty much the most bland human who ever existed: Callie. I hate her.”

“Then how is it the best book ever?”

Michael leaned in to whisper something. “...It has gays.” After Michael said that, Jeremy grabbed the book out of the teen’s hands and checked it out.

Making his way back to Michael, Jeremy had already began to read. Michael put a hand on Jeremy’s shoulder. “I knew you would learn.”

The first bell rang, and it was time to head back to their locker areas. It was only a matter of time before several hundred teenagers filled the halls and crushed anyone in their path. Michael and Jeremy parted ways, agreeing on making arrangements for their weekend plans that night. Jeremy got his backpack and headed out to the bus, where, on the ride, he read the ‘best book ever’, feeling oddly happy. It was weird. He never really liked any type of literature.

About ten minutes into the bus ride, Jeremy was already fifty pages in. He decided to text Michael, rather than indulge himself in his new addiction to the book.

im.heere: help

im.heere: I’m already 50 pages in

michael: hahahha you addict

im.here: :( I cannot believe you. You set me up and you now are going to ruin my life

michael: wow you have discovered my evil plan :0

michael: i got you addicted to raina telgemeier and now i will make you pay a fine to read her other books because i own ALL OF THEM AAHHAHAH

im.heere: omg she has more books

michael: i knew it would work >:D

im.heere: Okay, bye. Time to drown my newly found sorrows in this wonderful book

Friday night consisted of Jeremy finishing the book, ranting to Michael about how Callie was stupid, drinking a gallon of mountain dew, and staying up until 4:00 am playing MarioKart and trying to master Rainbow Road. Jeremy woke up a 2:00 pm on Saturday, with fourteen new texts from Michael.

michael: no kirby is awesome HE CAN FLY

michael: and he is pink

michael: morning sunshine ;)

michael: are we gonna hang out today

michael: ???

michael: hello?

michael: ?

michael: yo

michael: are we gonna hang out?

michael: are you aliveeeee

michael: dont tell me you fell off of rainbow road so many times that you got a concussion and now you dont remember that i exist

michael: if you do have amnesia then i should remind you that yesterday you were gonna give me your college funds???

michael: it happened i swear

michael: hhhhhhhhhhhhheeeeeeeeeelllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllloooooooooooo

Jeremy cursed himself for sleeping so late.

im.heere: oh yeah! Take the money, bro.

michael: i knew that you knew that i wasnt lying ;))

im.heere: Sorry, i drank a shit ton of mountain dew last night and i slept until 2.

michael: omg lmao ; ) thats like so #relatable gurlfriennnnnnnnnnd

im.heere: ???

michael: my impression of the majority of girls at our school

im.heere: oh

im.heere: accurate my dude

michael: so… whats the plan???

im.heere: you can come to my house at 4. Im 420 north main street

michael: no way

im.heere: I know. But im not joking. Thats my address.

michael: dude you are probably the coolest person i know

im.heere: i cant believe you only know one person

michael: :(

im.heere: ugh. okay, thanks

michael: :)

Jeremy got up, not bothering to change out of his Batman t-shirt. He made himself breakf- lunch, and watched High School Musical, because Jeremy liked to make fun of how high-budget their drama department must have had been to get that amazing camel puppet.

He only got halfway through the movie before he realized that he should probably make himself presentable. He took a quick shower, changed his clothes, and tidied up his room and the basement, where he kept all of his video games.

Michael showed up 15 minutes later in his usual red hoodie. They played Apocalypse of the Damned for an hour or so, before getting bored and switching to MarioKart. They then talked and told stupid stories about their childhoods, which somehow turned into an argument over what pasta is the best. It was almost 7:00 at that point, so they made ramen together and ate it while watching The Lion King.

“This is the best part!” Jeremy chimed, while pointing at the flatscreen TV.

Michael focused on the scene, seeing Mufasa fall off the cliff, and Simba mourn his death. “What? How was that the best part? It’s super sad!” Michael had tears in his eyes after the scene. He really loved animals.

Jeremy raised an eyebrow and smirked. “You are literally crying. A scene that can make Michael-”

“Mell.”

“A scene that can make Michael Mell cry deserves an Oscar.”

Michael contemplated the statement. “I guess you’re right. It’s a very emotional scene, by the way. Don’t judge me for loving animals.” He said, elbowing Jeremy, who was sitting on the couch next to him.

They heard a creaky door open at the front of the house, interrupting Simba fleeing the Pride Lands. “Jeremy, I’m home!” His dad walked into the hall with some groceries.

Jeremy’s face went pale. Well, pale-er. He forgot to tell his dad that he was having company. “Hey dad, I, uh, have someone over.”

“Is that a girl with you? Do you have a girlfriend? Who is that?” Mr. Heere rushed over to the living room, to see Michael and Jeremy lounging on the couch, watching The Lion King while eating ramen, both with nervous faces.

Jeremy started. “Nooo...t exactly. This is-”

“Michael.” He stuck out his hand to greet Mr. Heere.

Jeremy’s dad had a confused look on his face, not really understanding. Despite that, he shook Michael’s hand. “Well I’m Jeremy’s dad. You can call me Mr. Heere.” He smiled politely. “Are you going to be staying over?”

After looking to Jeremy, who just shrugged, Michael nodded.

“Alright. Make sure your parents know.” He turned to Jeremy. “I just bought some snacks and soda, so you’re good on food. Alright, I’m going to sleep. Don’t stay up too late.” And just as fast as he arrived, Mr. Heere was gone.

Michael sighed. “I hate my hair. It’s short, but not boy short? It makes me look so… girly. I really don’t know. Sorry for the outburst of dysphoria.” He said, twisting his fingers in

Jeremy nodded, kind of understanding. “I get it, I think. Why did you tell my dad your real name? I thought you weren’t out.”

The shorter teen shrugged. “I mean, if I can trust you with the truth, than I guess I can trust your dad. It would be weird if I told him my name was… y’know… and then you slipped and called me Michael, and we would have to make up some excuse. It’s just less complicated now.”

Jeremy dismissed the awkward conversation, and continued to watch the movie. After it was through, the boys went to the kitchen and hoarded all of the snacks. They managed to watch every sequel to The Lion King that night, and fell asleep on the couch in a pile of Fruit by the Foot wrappers.

The next day, they woke up at 11:00 in the morning, (which was early for both of them) cleaned up their mess of junk food, and Michael left soon after. Jeremy felt good to have a friend for once. He hadn’t hung out with anyone, really, since middle school. He was left to contemplate on the upcoming school week and worry about the piles of homework he had to finish before the day was over. He really hoped that he would make some more friends at GSA that Tuesday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i told you i would get into the flow!!! (i hope...) thanks for reading. ALSO READ DRAMA BY RAINA TELGEMEIER ITS GAY AND GOOD AND I HAVE A CULT SURROUNDING IT!! comments, kudos, suggestions, and other stuff are appreciated. i also am in the process of writing a one-shot thing that is kind of a christmas special??? idk if you guys want it to be a part of this story, or a one-shot... i cant give away any details, but it involves christmas movies...! thanks for over 200 reads after the first chapter! it gives me motivation to keep on writing crappy fanfics. until next time!~
> 
> also what should michaels screen name be??? :0


	3. Richard "Dick" Goranski's quest for true love... -ish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rich falls in love at the first GSA meeting.
> 
> Also it's explained why he drew obscenity all over the board.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TWs: rich drawing obscenity :0, and some swearing.
> 
> Suggestions are appreciated. Sorry this one's short :/

Rich slouched in the uncomfortable classroom chair he was sitting in. He played with the pencil that was left on the desk in front of him, flipping it and trying not to stab himself. He really didn’t need any more scars. He turned to his best friend, Christine, who was practically jumping up and down in her seat next to him.

“Chrisss…” Rich whined, dragging the last letter out with a lisp. “When is this thing going to start?” He laid his head down on the desk, crossing his arms under them.

Christine put her hand on her shorter friend’s shoulder. “I’m not sure, but isn’t this fun! We’re gonna meet other people who aren’t straight! Who knows, maybe you’ll meet someone.” Christine wiggled her eyebrows.

Rich scoffed, laughing, and elbowed Christine. “Stop being such a mom, mom. I’m helplessly single, and you know that.” Christine shrugged in defeat.

After another few minutes of waiting, the first person walked in through the door, and Rich’s breath hitched. It was a tall guy wearing a red and white sports jacket, with short brown hair, slightly wavy and styled to the side and back. His eyes lit up upon seeing Rich and Christine, and he made his way over to them. Those eyes… They were a beautiful mix of green and blue.   
Then he smiled, and Rich almost had a heart attack. However writers and poets described being awestruck by someone’s looks in a book or story was nothing compared to what it felt like. The best metaphor Rich could come up with was that it felt like his heart had just been replaced with helium, and he was floating on air.

“Hi, I’m Jake-” That’s such a nice name… “-And I’m kind of leading this club? I’m not sure what to call my position.” Jake introduced himself with a smile.

“I’m Christine! And this is Rich.” Christine gestured to Rich, who currently was leaning his cheek on his hand, fawning over Jake. “Rich?”

Rich took his hand off of his face, almost hitting his head on the desk. He snapped up, his eyes meeting Jake’s, and his face red with embarrassment. “Sorry! I was, um, spacing out.” Rich tried, and failed, to apologize without a lisp.

Jake dismissed it, and continued his conversation with Christine. “I never expected anyone to be more early than me.”

Christine laughed. “Yeah, I was just excited, I guess. I kind of dragged Rich over with me.”

Rich looked over to his friend. “It’s true.”

“Good to see that people are taking an interest.” Jake waved goodbye, and went to talk to a blonde girl who had just walked in.

After she was sure that Jake was out of earshot, she turned to Rich, and laughed. “Oh my god! You’ve got it so bad!” Rich blushed and hid his face in his arm.

“No, I was spacing out. You know that! Math class.” Christine rolled her eyes and grinned menacingly.

“Now I can blackmail you, you know.” Rich’s eyes grew wide.

“You wouldn’t dare.” Christine raised an eyebrow.

“You don’t know the extent of my power, small one.” She proclaimed.

“Was that a reference?”

“No, I actually just made that up.”

“That was a good one.”

Christine nodded in agreement. “Okay but back to real talk: You are so in love what the heck.”

“Fuck off.” Rich scoffed. “How can I be in love with someone who I literally just met?” Christine shrugged.

“You sure looked… enthralled.”

“Nooo… Stop being so good with vocabulary.” Rich whined, with a slight smile. “I’m bored now. What should we do?”

Christine paused to think. “How about we… Write our names on the board or something?” She looked to the whiteboard at the front of the room, which had ‘GSA Meeting Today’ written on it in big letters.

Rich thought about the proposition before having an epiphany that he knew would annoy the crap out of his best friend. “Well, my name is Richard, but that’s too long to write. So maybe I should shorten it.”

“Yeah, to your nickname. Rich.”

“Maybe I should shorten it to Dick.”

“No! Rich, you fool!”

“And writing takes so much effort… Why don’t I just draw dicks. That would be very efficient.”

Christine’s face morphed into one of disbelief and horror. “No, Rich. Please. You are my son and you will embarrass me.” But Rich had already gotten up and grabbed a red marker from a kid in a red sweatshirt (how ironic) who had written a few extra ‘y’s next to ‘Today, and had circled something. Rich began scribbling drawings all over the whiteboard. The kid in the red sweatshirt sat down, and was immediately confronted by Jake.

No, stupid brain. Don’t be distracted from your mission.

Christine had picked up an eraser, and was frantically erasing the drawings, almost as fast as Rich was drawing them. They continued the race as more students entered the room. Eventually, it was time to start, and the duo rushed to their seats when Jake returned to the front of the room.

All Rich could focus on throughout the rest of the meeting, aside from his determination to draw obscene pictures, was how charismatic and pretty Jake was. Rich sighed, knowing that this feeling wasn’t going to end any time soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading my dudes. There is RichJake in this story :0 I promise


	4. Father/Son Bonding Time!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just some quality Heere bonding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH GOD IM SO SORRY THAT I HAVENT UPDATED IN SO LONG I JUST HAVE BEEN UNINSPIRED AND I MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE WATCHED UP TO SEASON 3 IN GLEE IN A WEEK SO HAVE THIS SHORT CHAPTER AND I WILL MAKE YOU A NICE CHAPTER WITH THE ACTUAL CLUB NEXT AND IT WILL HAVE BROOKE DEVELOPMENT BECAUSE SHE HAS A BACKSTORY. 
> 
> TWs: kind of a mention of transphonia? Its extremely vague.

It had been almost three hours since Michael had left the Heere residence, when Jeremy's dad got back from some sports game that he had gone to see with a few of his work friends. 

He walked through the door and through the hallway into the kitchen, per his usual routine, to find his son piling random dry ingredients into a large ceramic bowl on the countertop. Flour was blanketing half of the floor, and Jeremy was meticulously measuring some sugar with a plastic cup in one hand while stirring the concoction with the other. A egg was slowly rolling off the counter, but Mr. Heere rushed over and caught it just before it hit the wooden floors.

“Oh, hi dad.” Jeremy greeted, not looking up from the bowl and sugar. 

His father snatched the cup and wooden spoon from him, forcing Jeremy to properly acknowledge his presence. “What is going on in here?” Mr. Heere asked with a stern and confused look.

Jeremy sighed. “I flunked my Family and Consumer Science test last week, and my teacher told me that if I wanted extra credit, I could bake what we made in class that week and send her a picture.”

“Then what's with the plastic cups and flour that is covering my kitchen?”

The teen grimaced. “We sorta didn't have any measuring cups, so I thought that maybe a normal cup would suffice. And I accidentally spilled half of our flour.”

Mr. Heere was astounded that baking could go this terribly. He was even a bit impressed. “Well, son, maybe if you show me the recipe, then I can help you. But first, sweep up all of that flour. It looks like a winter wonderland in here.”

Grabbing a broom, Jeremy nodded. The duo spent the next hour or two trying to bake a cake from scratch. Eventually, they pulled what looked to be a drippy souffle out of the oven. They put it in for another twenty minutes, and were satisfied with the slightly burnt cylinder that was their cake.

“I should at least get some points for this.” Jeremy concluded after emailing a picture of the cake to his teacher.

“You did good, cadet. Now let's dig in.”

Jeremy shook his head furiously. “No way am I eating that!”

Mr. Heere smiled. “Good, because I was afraid that I'd have to.”

They ended up throwing it away and ordering Chinese takeout for dinner. They were almost done with the meal when Jeremy's phone buzzed.

Player 1: hey dude what's up?

Michael and Jeremy had changed their names on their phones to something more suitable and relevant to their friendship.

Player 2: I'm just eating takeout, because you consumed all of the other food in my house.

Player 1: i cant help myself

Jeremy rolled his eyes and smiled, putting his phone down and continuing on his boneless spare ribs.

“Who is that you're texting?” Mr. Heere asked, knowing that Jeremy doesn't have many people to text.

“Just Michael, my friend who was over this weekend.” Jeremy said.

“Oh.”

“Yep.”

They continued to eat in an awkward silence. Jeremy knew what his dad wanted to saw, but also knew that they shared the common trait of being terrible at asking questions like that. It wasn't until Jeremy had got up to wash his dishes that his dad asked.

“So, is Michael a girl? They really did look like a girl, not to be rude.” Mr. Heere said uncomfortably.

Jeremy felt his muscles clenching up. “No, um…” He paused to think. “Do you know what transgender is?” Jeremy asked. It was weird that he would be the one asking that.

“Yep. How could I not, with all the news.”

Jeremy sat back down. “Well he is that. Trans. He hasn't told his parents, so they still think he's a girl, and call him Michelle and stuff. So if you're ever around them, pretend he's a girl, okay?”

Mr. Heere nodded. “Don't worry, Jeremy. I don't think he is an abomination, or whatever those unaccepting conservatives think.”

“Thanks dad.”

“No problem, son.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Sorry for 2 short chapters in a row. The next one will (hopefully) be longer.


	5. Brooke's average Tuesday --- Special guest star: Failed friendships!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brooke has to deal with the past while also being a member of a fake soccer team. Featuring Jenna trying to murder some jerks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH HEY LOOK, A CHAPTER OVER 1000 WORDS FOR ONCE! the next chapter is either the meeting, or Brooke and Chloe's backstory of friendship. I'm on the fence about it.
> 
> Anyway, enjoy my first goodish chapter in forever! 
> 
> TWs: swearing, jenna trying to attack people, frozen references (you'll see), and failed friendships

It was finally Tuesday, the day that Brooke had been waiting the past seven days for. She went to all of her classes like usual, and when it came time to have lunch, she sat in the corner of the cafeteria with her friend Jenna. She wouldn't say that Jenna was her best friend, considering that Jenna prefered texting people she had never met to talking to Brooke, but it was the closest thing she had.

“Hi,” said the shorter blonde. She set her lunch tray on the mostly empty circular table, and sat on one of the plastic chairs that surrounded it. Jenna looked up, mumbled some greeting, and continued scrolling through some form of social media. 

The lunchroom had begun to fill up with students, which in turn created a background noise of hundreds of conversations. Brooke looked around the cafeteria, looking for something to entertain her. She saw a group of the popular kids laughing together at a table near the wall that had huge windows. They weren't far away, so Brooke could hear some of the conversation.

“So Madeline told Jake: ‘I'll only have sex with you if you beat me at pool.’ And then she lost at pool… Deliberately.” Chloe, the queen bee, said. Madeline, who was also sitting at the table, spat a few curses in denial, and the girls continued their pointless gossip.

About six girls and five guys sat at the table, including Madeline, Chloe, Jake, and Dustin. They were the girls whose looks were envied by other girls, and the guys who other guys wanted to be. It wasn't until ten minutes until the end of lunch that the conversation got interesting.

Madeline was finishing her expensive mineral water when she struck up a question. “So, Jake and Chloe, where were you guys last Tuesday? We were all supposed to go to the mall together with Dustin.”

“Were you guys making out in the janitor’s closet again?” Another girl asked.

Chloe rolled her eyes. “Obviously not. We broke up over the summer, remember?”

“Yeah. I just had an extracurricular that I had to go to, and Chloe was bored and tagged along.” Jake said.

“I want proof.” Madeline stated, crossing her arms.

“Oh my god. Fine.” Chloe got up, and started walking to some table. Wait. She was walking towards Brooke and Jenna.

Chloe walked over to the table in the corner where Jenna and Brooke were sitting. She took a seat in between them in the plastic chair the two girls left as buffer zone, so people didn't ‘assume anything’, as Jenna said.

“If you two don't want to commit social suicide, then I suggest you shut your mouths and listen to me.” Chloe demanded. The two girls immediately closed their gaping mouths and stared at her.

Chloe smiled, satisfied, and continued. “You two are going to come over to my table with me and tell my friends about our soccer team and how Jake and us started it last Tuesday.”

Brooke raised an eyebrow. “But we didn't?” It sounded more like a question than a statement.

“I know. It's a lie to protect my reputation. You are going to help me with my alibi. In return, it will also protect you from being outed, and I won't make fun of you anymore.” Chloe crossed her arms, knowing she had won.

“Anymore? Excuse me, bitch, but-”

“Okay, you've got a deal.” Brooke said, interrupting Jenna’s fit of rage.

Chloe smiled. She stood up, along with Jenna and Brooke, and sat back down at her table. “Who are they?” Madeline asked, pointing at the two girls.

“They are on my soccer team. The place where I was last Tuesday. You wanted proof, here it is.” Chloe said. She glanced at Jake, who was giving her a thanking look.

Madeline rolled her eyes. “The dumb blonde, I can see. But the other one?”

Jenna almost attacked the girl, but had to be held back by Brooke. “Actually, Jenna is great at offense. Jake and I are defense, and Chloe is midfield. There's a few other kids on the team, too. We have practice after school today.” Brooke said.

Madeline scoffed. “I never thought that you two would be hanging out with such losers. Oh well, I guess you want to miss out on our monthly manipedi.”

“We can do that tomorrow. Just reschedule. It's not like I'm ditching you guys. It's just once a week.”

“Fine.” Madeline continued on what was left of her non-GMO all-natural lunch that probably cost a fortune. Jake mouthed ‘thank you’, and Chloe dismissed the two girls.

“Well that… happened.” Brooke concluded once they had sat back down at their rightful table.

Jenna nodded. “That sorority group is full of stuck-up self-centered assholes. They should be glad I didn't break a neck while I was over there.” She looked up from her phone and straight into Brooke’s eyes. “I can't believe you used to be friends with her.”

Brooke looked down. “That was, like, in elementary school. She's different now. I'm different. Can we not talk about this?”

“Okay.” Jenna sighed.

The bell rang, and they parted ways. It was only two hours until the next GSA meeting, and Brooke was determined to get through the rest of her day without any more terrible confrontations.

Luckily, Social Studies, Math, and Study Hall passed by with only a few annoyances from idiots who thought it would be a good idea to hide all of Brooke’s books and pencils on the top of some shelf, where they knew she couldn't reach. Eventually, though, the school day was over. Brooke grabbed her backpack and began walking towards the area of the school where Jenna and her usually met up. When she arrived, Jenna was already talking to two other teenagers who Brooke recognized from GSA.

“My ace ass has been waiting for this day all week. Finally somewhere where I’m not constantly bothered by schoolmates or parents or teachers.” Jenna explained, while the other two nodded.

“Same, about being ace.” The short girl with shoulder length black hair said.

Jenna smiled. “Cool. Aroace?”

“Nope. I can’t live without romance!” The girl laughed.

Jenna chuckled. “Me either. Good to know.”

The shortest one there, a guy with a red streak in his hair, piped in. “What was happening with you and the two other girls at lunch? Chloe and… umm…”

“Brooke.” Brooke said. They all turned to her. “Chloe just was blackmailing us into helping her and Jake cover up that they were attending GSA.” She sighed. “I really thought she changed…” She whispered the last part under her breath.

“What?” The boy asked.

“Nothing!” Brooke yelped. “Sorry, I was just talking to myself.”

The trio dismissed it, thankfully. “We should get going if we don’t want Jake to beat us up.” The girl suggested. “Oh, we haven’t formally met. I’m Christine, and this is Rich!” Christine greeted. Rich gave her a wave, and Brooke smiled back.

“I’m Brooke.” She replied.

They all walked to the meeting together, trying to avoid confrontation with any other students. They all rather wouldn't explain where they were headed to a nosy schoolmate. After a few minutes of scattered conversations and sore legs, they arrived in the dusty old backroom. As expected, Jake was already there, as well as headphones and cardigan. Only Chloe was missing.

The tall brunette walked into the club a few minutes early. She sat down at a desk next to where Brooke and Jenna had joined their two new friends. “Brooke? Can I talk to you?” She asked.

Brooke glared at Chloe. “Okay. Talk.”

“I mean in private.”

Brooke sighed, and followed the taller girl out of the room and into the empty hallway. “What do you want?” She demanded.

Chloe frowned. “I just- I'm really sorry about what happened at lunch. I panicked, and I didn't want Madeline to find out about… this.”

Brooke scoffed. “Apologize to Jenna, not me. Madeline was being a bitch to her, and it's your fault. I don't care about anything else.”

“Now I remember why I was friends with you.” Chloe sighed.

“What?”

“You were always so loyal. You put your friends above everything else.”

“I can't say the same about you,” The blonde snapped. “Don't bring our stupid friendship into this. That was years ago, and I was an idiot to ever think that you cared about anything other than your image.”

Chloe stared at Brooke sadly. “I'm sorry.”

Brooke crossed her arms and went back in the room, leaving Chloe alone in the hallway. Brooke sat back down with Jenna, Christine, and Rich.

“Woah, what's the story with her?” Rich asked.

“The past is in the past.”

“Did you just fucking quote Elsa from Frozen?”

“...Yes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please give me suggestions, for one brain can only have so many mediocre ideas. Sorry for the long hiatus before, I will try to update frequently with long chapters.


	6. The Trainwreck Known as Brooke & Chloe's Friendship: Flashback Mode

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A series of flashbacks reveals the real reason as to why Brooke and Chloe aren't friends anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OOOOPS I just realized I made a mistake in rhe first chapter, calling Brooke and Jenna popular and friends with Chloe. Scratch that. But: Jenna still is known for gossip.
> 
> Yay a super long chapter! Don't expect this to become a trend...
> 
> TWs: swearing, implied homophobia, terrible friendships, my bad writing.

It was the first day of Kindergarten, and Brooke was already the least popular girl in school. As soon as she walked in, another six year-old girl approached her and said “pigtails are dumb”, while pointing at the blonde’s hairstyle. Brooke burst into tears and ran across the classroom to hid in a cubby space.

She cried into some random kid’s camouflage raincoat while sitting on a superman lunchbox. She stayed there for ten minutes without any notice from the teacher or any of her classmates, which made her cry more. After a few more minutes of her pity-party, a little girl with wavy brown hair and polka dot leggings walked up to her.

“Madeline is mean. Your hair is pretty. I wish I had yellow hair. But my hair looks like dirt.” The girl sat crossed-legged in front of Brooke, who wiped her face on the camo jacket.

Brooke shook her head. “Your hair is pretty. Like chocolate. My hair is dumb. Why did my mommy put my hair like this?” The little girl began to tug the elastics out of her hair, leaving behind a mess of blonde locks.

The brunette’s eyes lit up. “If you don't like your hair, then I can braid it! My daddy taught me how to!” Brooke smiled, and the other girl began to braid her long golden hair. After she was done, she secured it with one of the elastic, and held the braid up to show the shorter girl.

“I love it! Thank you! My name is Brooke.”

The brunette smiled, showing off a few missing teeth. “I’m Chloe Marie Valentine. But because we're friends, you can call me Chloe!”

Brooke looked astonished. “We're friends? Best friends?” Chloe nodded, and the two little girls hugged. They walked out into the classroom together, making sure to walk by Madeline, showing off Brooke’s new hairstyle.

***

It was the first day of third grade, and Chloe and Brooke were determined that they were going to have the best year ever. They had gotten matching backpacks, bought Japanese erasers from the dollar store, and even managed to get in the same class for the fourth year in a row! Nothing could go wrong.

“I'm so excited for this year! Dustin isn't in our class anymore, so we won't have to worry about him making fun of you.” Chloe was jumping in her seat as the duo swung on the swing set at recess.

“That's good. But what about Madeline? I saw her in our classroom today…” Brooke trailed off, still remembering what had happened three years ago.

Chloe smiled, her ponytail swinging back and forth with her as she swung. “Madeline is nice now, remember? She came to my birthday party over the summer!”

Brooke sighed. “Alright. If you say so.” They continued swinging until a teacher blew a whistle, and they lined up to go inside. Madeline stood next to them in line, acting nicer than usual. Usual, of course, being extremely mean.

“Brooke, what are you wearing?” Madeline asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I'm just wearing what I usually do. A t-shirt and shorts.” Brooke responded.

Madeline laughed. “Those are boy clothes. You're not a boy, are you?” Brooke shook her head. Why would Madeline be saying all of this? She was her friend, right?

“Brooke, if we are gonna be BFFs, then you can't look so ugly all the time. What, are you going to start liking superheroes and football now?” Madeline’s words felt like toxins to Brooke’s ears. Chloe had gone to talk to another girl, Christine, while all of this was happening, so Brooke was all alone.

“Stop being so mean!” The blonde shouted. “I thought you were my friend!”

“We can't be friends if you are going to dress like that.” Tears began to well up in Brooke's eyes. Her face flushed red with embarrassment as other kids gathered around to see what the argument was about.

Chloe pushed her way through the small crowd. “Brooke, what's going on?” She asked, worried.

“Madeline is telling me that I'm ugly.”

The accused gasped. “Stop lying! You were getting jealous and telling me that Chloe would never be my friend!”

Chloe looked at Brooke, hurt. “Is that true? You won't let me be friends with anyone else?”

“No!” Brooke yelled. The commotion had begun to attract the attention of a teacher, a sure sign that Brooke had to get out of there immediately. The girl ran into the school, and into the girl’s bathroom, where she locked herself in one of the unsanitary stalls.

She attempted to steady her breathing, and fight the urge to start sobbing. Luckily, she had gotten very good at the latter within the past few years.

This is stupid. Stupid Madeline, stupid drama, stupid me for trusting her. Why do I even stay in this stupid school?

After a few minutes, the bathroom door creaked over, and Brooke could hear the sound of purple twinkle-toes walking past the stalls. “Brookey? Are you there?” Chloe’s voice echoed the tiled walls.

After a moment of silence, Brooke spoke up. “Yeah, Chlo-Chlo.” She unlocked the stall she was in, and walked out to face her best friend.

Chloe immediately hugged the shorter girl. “Oh, thank gosh that you're okay! I knew that you were telling the truth, because you are a terrible actress, no offense, and if you were lying, it wouldn't be convincing that you were upset.” Brooke smiled. She remembered in their first grade play how she used a monotone voice whenever she read her lines.

“Thanks for believing me. What happened to Madeline?” Brooke asked.

Chloe smiled. “She got sent to the principal's office.”

“No way!” Brooke gasped. “Even you haven't been there, not even when you punched Jake in the face for bragging about his grades!”

Chloe laughed. “Yeah. I'm so sorry that I ever trusted her. She's such a jerk. How can I make it up to you?”

Brooke thought about it. “How about… Neither of us can ever trust her again, let alone become her friend.”

Chloe nodded in agreement. “She has put you through so much, that we probably shouldn't ever even look at her again. She doesn't deserve our optic attention!” Brooke giggled, and hugged the taller girl.

“I love you.” Brooke said, still in mid-hug.

Chloe smiled into Brooke's perfect blonde hair. “I love you too.”

***

It was just before the start of middle school when Chloe received a text.

BrookeLoh: CODE RED I REPEAT CODE RED!!!

ChloeVal: STAY CALM IM ON MY WAY!!!

Luckily, it was a Saturday, and Chloe lived only a short walk from Brooke’s house. Chloe was there in a matter of minutes, thanks to her amazing stamina. Brooke's parents didn't even acknowledge that Chloe was there, seeing that Chloe was at their house almost every other day.

The brunette raced up the stairs and into Brooke’s bedroom, where Brooke sat on a beanbag, staring at her phone, still in shock. “What's the emergency?!” Chloe demanded. Brooke just handed her friend the phone, which had a text chain open on it.

???: Hey Brooke, it's Madeline.

BrookeLoh: what do you want??

Madeline: The girls and I have noticed that you have started to become less of a loser as of late.

Madeline: You are dressing well, and actually using makeup to cover your usually ugly face.

BrookeLoh: um, RUDE

Madeline: Anyway, we think that you might be suitable now to join our clique. Become popular and all that.

BrookeLoh: why would I ever want to do that? I have chloe, and you have never been anything but terrible to me.

Madeline: This is your chance to escape bullying and being made fun of. Your LAST chance.

“What do I say?” Brooke's eyes were full of panic, and her lip quivered in fear. Chloe's heart filled with sadness upon seeing her friend like that.

“What do you want to say?” Chloe asked.

Brooke shrugged. “I guess that I will never join her pack of she-wolves as long as I'm morally sound, and that I care about you more than popularity or safety from them.”

Chloe smiled lovingly, and typed Brooke's response into the phone, and hit send.

Madeline: Oh well. Good luck in middle school!

“Thank you!” Brooke said, tackling her taller friend with a hug. Suddenly, the two girls fell onto the bed from the force of Brooke's weight. Chloe was pinned under Brooke, whose face was only a few inches from touching the other girl’s. They stared into each other's eyes for a bit too long before realization washed over them, and they both began to blush profusely. 

Brooke fell off the bed and onto the floor in an attempt to free Chloe, which more or less worked. They both began to sputter out apologies while their faces heated with a red tint.

Chloe finally headed home, after spending the rest of the day watching episodes of Glee with Brooke. She plugged her phone in, which had died halfway through an episode, and opened it to find a new text from an unknown number.

???: Hey Chloe, it's Madeline.

ChloeVal: jesus, you just don't quit.

Madeline: Nope. Anyway, I assume you've read my conversation with Brooke?

ChloeVal: you bet.

Madeline: I'm prepared to offer you the same deal.

ChloeVal: are you kidding me??!! after everything you put Brooke through???

Madeline: If you join my clique, which you will, I swear on my life that I will stop being a jerk to your girlfriend.

ChloeVal: #1: she isn't my girlfriend. #2: I can protect her myself

Madeline: I swear, if you decline, I will make her life a living Hell. She will want to die by the time the first week of school is done.

Madeline: You and I both know that I can and will.

Chloe sighed in defeat. Brooke was her whole world. Everything that she had ever loved. She had to protect her at all costs. And if that meant becoming a part of Madeline's clique and giving up Brooke, then so be it. 

Brooke deserves more than me, anyway.

ChloeVal: fine. i’ll do it for brooke. you disgust me.

***

Brooke walked into Middleborough Middle School with hopes of seeing Chloe. She hadn't seen her since last week, when they watched Glee together after the Madeline incident.

Maybe she got sick, or she's grounded and can't text me.

For some reason, Brooke expected some massive change would occur once she entered middle school, but it was mostly the same. The cliques all bunched up around lockers, blocking half the hallways, the outsiders walking around silently and wishing they were a part of something, and the occasional event where a kid was picked on by a larger group.

Brooke had already found her homeroom, and was now searching for her locker. She was walking the tiled halls aimlessly, schedule clutched in her hand, when she spotted a tall figure that she knew standing near a group of girls dressed in expensive outfits.

Brooke ran over, a smile spreading over her face. “Chloe! Where have you been?” Chloe turned around, and Brooke’s eyes widened. She was barely recognizable.

The brunette had her hair flawlessly done with caramel waves, adding volume to her already thick hair, and secured with a headband. She wore a tight-fitting shirt with a low cut, what looked to be designer jacket, a black pleated skirt, and black flats. Her face was layered with concealer, lipstick, eyeshadow, mascara, and eyeliner, something extremely out of character for her. In elementary school, she would only wear lip gloss, and that was for special occasions..

Chloe’s eyes lit up. “Brooke! Sorry that I didn't respond to your texts.” She sounded happy, but Brooke was the opposite.

“What… What happened to you?” Brooke stepped back when her friend tried to reach out to her.

“I-”

A girl walked out of the crowd, and approached the duo. “Chloe, why are you talking to her?”

Brooke's face morphed from confusion, into disgust upon processing who the girl was. She turned back to Chloe. “What? Madeline? What are you doing hanging out with her?”

“I'm doing this to help you! To protect you!” Chloe was confused as to why the blonde was so upset.

Brooke scoffed. “Helping me? Hanging out with her is helping me?”

Chloe tried to speak, but was interrupted. “What about our promise? After everything she has done to us? To me? You're supposed to be my best friend! A real friend wouldn't abandon me and hang out with someone who has harassed me all my life!” Tears were now spilling from Brooke's eyes.

“You don't understand! This is all for you!” Chloe yelled.

Brooke bit her lip, before sighing angrily. “No. Forget it. Forget we were ever friends. I'm done.” Brooke turned, and ran down the hallway, tear streaks staining her face.

Chloe stood in the middle of the group of girls, who were all laughing and making fun of her frien- ...ex-friend. Chloe looked defeated.

This is all for her. Why can't she understand that?

Madeline leaned in towards the brunette. “I guess you have nothing left but us now… She isn't your friend. If she was, she wouldn't leave you after all your sacrifice.”

Chloe frowned, and turned towards the other girls. “Anyone up for frozen yogurt after school?”

***

It was the first week back to school in Junior year, when Brooke and her closest friend, Jenna, were walking through the halls after school. They had both missed the bus, and were too bored to head home to their suburban homes. So, they decided to look for some club to crash instead. They had been walking around the empty halls for around ten minutes, before a flyer caught Brooke’s eye.

“Hey Jenna, look at this,” Brooke walked over to the flyer, examining it more. “It’s a GSA. A ‘Gender & Sexuality Alliance’.”

Jenna nodded sarcastically. “Wow! A gay club in our own school? I’m honored!”

Brooke rolled her eyes. “The meeting is in like ten minutes. Wanna crash it and see who is gay? It’s potential gossip…!”

“Hmmm…” Her taller friend was intrigued. “If nothing interesting happens after twenty minutes, then I’m out.”

“It’s a deal.” Brooke said, smiling.

They managed to locate the backroom where the meeting was being held, and sat down in the back against the wall. Brooke surveyed the room from there. Two kids, who she knew the names of, Rich and Christine, were at the whiteboard, apparently fighting over whether or not Rich was allowed to draw something. Jake Dillinger- 

Wait. JAKE DILLINGER? 

He was the straightest person that Brooke knew! Brooke nudged Jenna, and pointed at the teen. Jenna looked up from her phone, and stifled a laugh. “That kid is way over his head in extracurriculars.” Brooke nodded in agreement.

Anyway, Jake Dillinger was in the corner talking to Anti-Social Headphones Kid, who looked annoyed with the taller guy’s babbling. Another kid had just walked in, someone Brooke knew from his iconic last name; Heere. At roll, he would always say ‘present’ rather than be repetitive and answer with ‘here’. He walked over to Jake and headphones, and just stood there awkwardly until Jake left, and sat down next to headphones.

Eventually, the meeting formally began, and they went around with names and pronouns. At one point, Brooke said ‘sher’ rather than ‘her’, and got super embarrassed. Halfway through the introductions, someone burst through the door and into the meeting.

No fucking way.

Chloe Valentine stood in the doorway, and held up a finger. “Not a word! Not a word about this to anyone. As far as you know, I'm here to make fun of you all.” She said demandingly.

Wait, is she…?

Brooke began hoping. 

Shut up brain. Why would it be good if she was? It’s not like I’m… 

Brooke pushed the thoughts out of her head.

Brooke had absentmindedly patted the spot next to her, signalling Chloe to sit there. Oops.

Chloe strutted to the spot, and added “Chloe, she/her.”, before sitting down next to the blonde.

As the meeting continued, it was unclear as to why Chloe was there. She couldn't be an ally, because she was always calling kids gay in the hallway or making homophobic statements. She really didn't seem very interested in the club, so she wasn't there to be informed. (not that there is anything informing about a war of the memes) So… was she not straight?

I said shut up, brain. She has her reasons.

Brooke sighed, hoping that one of the reasons were right. After all, would it really be so bad if Chloe wasn't straight?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Drinking Game: take a shot every time I say girl, tall, brunette, blonde, or duo. Actually don't, you will get alcohol poiaoning before you get halfway through.
> 
> My current dilemma: is it okay to have like, 3 trans characters, or is that pushing it. It wouldn't be their whole character, but it would be a trait, I guess. My reasoning is that there were like 4 trans kids in my GSA, so there might be more than just one he(e)re. My boy Mikey should have someone to talk to!!
> 
> Thanks for reading, and sorry the chapter was so delayed. I needed to figure out the ending. Also, for once in not posting extremely late at night!


	7. The Second Meeting: Jake's Thought-Provoking Acronym

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The second meeting has finally come! What will happen?
> 
> Not much, to be honest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, it only took me a year to get another chapter out :')
> 
> This one is just filler mostly, and isn't my best work.
> 
> Thanks for sticking with me for like a year, y'all are super great.

Jake waited for the other members to arrive, tapping his fingers rhythmically on the desk he was leaning against. Only Michael had arrived so far, and the meeting was set to start in about ten minutes. The window in the old backroom showed the horrible outside weather, with cloudy gray skies and a slight drizzle. Man, was Jake glad that his fake soccer team wasn't real.

He had been anticipating this day for the last week, even going as far as counting down the days on his calendar. He felt that it was so great to have a group of people to talk to who really understood him. Speaking of...

Jake clicked the small power button on the side of his case and checked his phone to see if he had gotten any new texts. The screen lit up with a few messages from a group chat, but nothing interesting or important. Merely Dustin and a few other jocks bragging about how strong they were. Jake chuckled a bit at the stupid messages. Even if his friends were the worst, they were still his friends.

Jake jumped at the sound of the classroom door clicking open. 

Jenna, Rich, Brooke, and Christine walked in, all talking happily. They sat down next to each other in a small cluster of desks near the window.

“Hey,” Jake greeted the group of teenagers, not sure what they were talking about.

Only Rich seemed to notice him talking. “Uh, hi.” He responded, looking at Jake quickly and then back at the window. Was he blushing?

Jake ignored his thought. “You ready for the meeting?” Jake asked, excited. He sure was.

Rich nodded, humming a ‘mhm'. His face was looking red. That's weird, Jake though. Maybe he's embarrassed?

“Um. Are you okay? You look flushed.”

“You're so…” Rich laughed quietly for a moment, turning back to Jake, before suddenly frowning at his own actions. “Yeah, it's nothing. I'm just… Thinking too much.”

Jake nodded slowly, not understanding so well. Rich was acting rather strange. Jake didn't know the boy very well, so it was possible this was normal.

Jake shrugged it off, and went to sit down for a bit before the meeting officially began. The conversations around the room seemed to die down after a few more minutes. Jeremy showed up, as well as Chloe. Although Brooke and Chloe went out in the hall for a bit, they were now all back.

Jake stood up from the desk he was at, and wrote four letters on the board.

LGBT.

He could already hear some murmuring around the room after he finished.

“Uh, Jake?” Said Christine.

Jake turned to her. “Yeah?”

The girl pointed at the acronym on the board. “That's… Not complete.”

Jake beamed at Christine. “Yes. I think that it's safe to say that we all think of different acronyms when we see LGBT+. Maybe today we can brainstorm what some letters are, and what they mean to us. Maybe even broaden some perspectives.”

The group nodded, some looking excited, and others bored.

“Ooo! Can I go first?” Brooke asked.

Jake gave a thumbs up, and handed the marker to Brooke. She wrote the letters QIAP after the original four.

“LGBTQIAP. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, and pansexual.” Brooke stated triumphantly.

The club muttered agreements, except for Jenna. “Those are all good additions, but some intersex people don't consider themselves a part of the community. They say that it's more of a medical condition than a gender or a transition.” Jenna stated.

“Yeah,” Michael agreed, “But isn't being trans also kind of a medical thing? Not only the transition, but scientists have found that gender dysphoria is a result of an excess amount of estrogen or testosterone in certain areas of the brain.”

“And Q can also mean questioning.” Added Jeremy.

Brooke shrugged. “From what I've seen, people who are intersex also have their own differing views on being part of the acronym. I always add it just for those who want to be included. I do agree with the questioning thing, though.”

Jake smiled, seeing that his prompt had begun a conversation. The rest of the meeting had gone that way, eventually leading to many, many more letters on the whiteboard. Members of the club had begun having their own conversations, discussing things about the acronym, and what they thought certain words meant. Jake nodded to himself, proud that he somehow managed to get the rowdy group of teenagers to sit down and have a deep conversation that wasn't about memes.

Jake barely noticed that Rich had approached him until he began talking. “Uh, Jake?” He asked, waving his to get his attention.

The taller boy looked over to see that Rich was trying to talk to him. “Yeah?” He responded, turning to face the teen.

“Sorry about earlier. I was just sort of spacing out a bunch.” Rich explained half-heartedly. His eyes didn't meet Jake's as he spoke, instead darting around to other objects in the room. It was easy to tell that he wasn't being completely honest.

Jake decided it would be best just to put the matter to rest, so he nodded understandingly. He glanced at the clock over the door, and quietly cursed to himself. “I've gotta go,” He sighed. “The late bus is leaving in a few minutes.”

“Oh!” Rich chimed, realizing something. “Can I get your number? For club stuff. Y’know.” Rich scratched the back of his neck as he asked, awkwardly shifting from foot to foot.

Jake’s face brightened, and he smiled warmly. “Sure thing!” He quickly handed Rich his smartphone, and the shorter boy typed in a number. Jake shot him a text, and Rich's phone buzzed.

“Thanks,” Rich put his phone back in the pockets of his green cargo pants.

Jake gave him a smile before making his way over to the door, backpack in hand. “Bye guys!” Jake called, drawing the attention of the teenagers who were chatting. A few of them waved goodbye as he exited the room.

The walk to the late bus was short, only being a few hallways away from the meeting room. The tall teenager took a seat on a bench outside of the school as he waited for the yellow vehicle to arrive. Just as expected, the bus rounded the bend and came into sight in the drop-off section near the front of the building.

Jake, as well as a few other students who had stayed after, boarded the bus, each handing a lay bus pass to the driver as they passed.

Sitting down on the left side towards the back, Jake decided to open his phone and text Rich. At least it was something to do.

JakeyD: hey dude

Rich: Hey

Rich: Wait, let me change my username

[Rich has changed their username to RichyG]

JakeyD: this is bullying and I won't tolerate it

RichyG: >:)

JakeyD: wow, emoticons. lame.

RichyG: :’(

JakeyD: :^0

RichyG: GOD NO NOT THE NOSE

JakeyD: :^^^^^^)

RichyG: Now this? This is true bullying.

Jake laughed quietly, just loud enough so that he could hear it. The bus was at his stop, so he quickly slid his phone into his pocket, and walked down the aisle, down the stairs, and to the front door of his impressively sized house.

The house was big for suburban New Jersey, with three spacious floors and a basement. Jake didn't like the place much, although it was well-furnished and beautiful. The fact that it was empty, with nobody but Jake in it made him have a sort of a grudge against it. His parents were never home, and only communicated to him through the checks they sent him via their offshore bank account that they had to pay for things like the house.

Jake sighed, throwing his maroon backpack next to the staircase that was a few feet from the doorway. He climbed the staircase up to his room, and relaxed on his bed. Due to it being so early in the school year, the high schooler didn't have much homework.

Jake opened Rich's newest text after feeling his phone buzz.

RichyG: hey idk if you're busy, but would you want to hang out over the weekend?

JakeyD: Sure man!

RichyG: cool. I guess we could hang out at my place on saturday around noon?

JakeyD: Sounds cool.

RichyG: cool. see you tomorrow, I guess.

Jake frowned, wondering how his current friend group would react if they saw him hanging out with Jake. No, he thought, Rich is fine. Plus, if they don't like him, they're the real uncool ones.

JakeyD: See you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was It worth the wait?
> 
> Nope.
> 
> I have no idea where the comedy went, but expect that to be back by next chapter. I will try to update at least once a week for the summer at least.
> 
> Thanks for reading! I love you all!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
